According to the World Health Organization, one in every 38 women in Kenya will die from complications during pregnancy or childbirth. Only 44% of all women receive skilled attendance during delivery, and the proportion of births attended by skilled health professionals has been falling in recent years. FCI’s three-country Skilled Care Initiative, which was launched in 2001, was a five-year effort to improve maternal health outcomes and raise the proportion of births attended by skilled personnel. The project was a unique effort to reduce maternal death by focusing specifically on improving skilled care for all women during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period.

Designing effective interventions that inspire and motivate women and their families to adopt new
behaviors regarding skilled care requires an in-depth understanding of their current beliefs, values, attitudes and practices. To this end, FCI conducted extensive qualitative research with community members to gather detailed information on their experiences and opinions regarding the quality, availability, and utilization of maternal health services in their community. This study targeted women, male partners, female elders, delivery attendants, and influential community members in Kenya’s Homabay and Migori Districts.